Bumper attachment



W. G. PANCUAST AND W. 1. GROTENHUIS.

BUMPER ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE Is. |919.

Patented June 29, 1920.

W. G. PANCOAST'AND W. J. GBOTENHUIS.

BUMPER ATTACHMENT. AIPLlcATxoN man JUNE ls, 1919.

Patented J une 29, 1920 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STA'QATENT oFFics- WLLAll/ Gr. 4PAINCOAS-T AND WILLIAM.

SSGNORS T0 BIFLEX ERODUGTS CRBRATN F ILLINOIS.

ppication filed June 13,

To all wimmt may concern.'

t Be it known that We, lVILLIAM G. PAN- consi: and WILLIAM J. Gno'rENHUIs, both citizens of the United States, and both resi 5 dents of Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stute oi Illinois, lia-ve invented certain new and useful improvements in Bumper Attachments, oi which the iollowing'is e speci- 19 Our invention has reference more particularly' to brackets for attaching e bumper to the side'freroe members or sills of an eu- `toinobile or vehicle und the means for securing the buinpertothese brackets.

It is eustoniey .for the purpose of et tuching-,bumpers t'owautomobiles to provide breclilcts which may be secured to the front or regir ends of the csr sills to mount the bumper et the ends or" 'the sills, as the let- 20 ter, being mein members ot' the cer freine, y 'oil'ord au eiiective and substantiel means to 4resist theimpect upon the bumper. Some of the brackets heretofore provided have been ettched to the end of the car sill. by

2s means of the spring bolt customarily provided et this point, and others have been wronged to clemp onto the end of the sill,.

Y and the bumpers are connected to these brackets in various Ways, some resilieutly 3G and others rigidly, depending upon 'the type of bumper which is employed.

The principal objects of our invention are to provide ettechiug brackets which are secured in place on the end of the sill by ineens of the bolt which connects the usuel spring with the end of the sill and also by clamping 'the brackets onto the end of the sill so us to afford increased security; to provide clamping ineens engaging above and w belen7 the sill end 'fitting against the downturn ed tapered end thereof' to hold the brochet securely in place; to hold brackets clamped in this manner onto the tapered end ot the sill against sliding displacement owing to thetepered torni of the sill by locking the brackets in position by means of: the spring connectingg bolt; to provide attaching brackets composed of opposed sections which are adjustable to lit sills of various sizes; to provide e detachable connection of the bumper with the bracket whereby 'the bumper is firmly secured in place; to pron Speccation of Letters Patent.

J. GROTENHUIS, 0F CHGAG, LLINQIS, COMPANY, 0F VAUKGN, ILLNOIS, A.

Patented June 29, 1920.

153m?. Serial N0. 303,920.

vide clamping ineens permitting relative od- 3 stuient of the two ports` of the bracket and adapted to be/v Secured to both parts thereof for securing the bumper to the breclfets; and in geuerl to provide improved brackets of at universal cherscter adopted "'to'lit sills of various forms and sizes where by u bumper; .may be conveniently mounted on en automobile or other vehicle.

` Un the drowingsm- Figure l is :i top view of end portions of sills with e, bumper attached thereto in eccordonce with our invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional. view on', 'the line 2-2, Fiff'. l, showing tbe etteching bracket and o. portion of the sill inrsitie elevation,

Fig. 3 is a view looking the left hand end of the structure shown in Fig. 2, wig. i is a sectional view on tbe line e--4-, il ig'. 2,

5 is e perspective view of the clamp for securing the bumper-.to the brochet, end- .Flgl 6 is a. perspcti fevrew oi e half section of the bracketfo attaching the bumper to the cer sill. i The reference numeral l indicates the end portion of4 e sill such as is used in automobiles, and 2 is a portion of the usual supporting spring which it is the usual practice to provide with e loop at the end which loop is pivoted in :i socket 3 provided therefor et the en'd of t e sill l by s.. pivot bolt .4. t8 which is inserted through apertures in. *the side wells of the soclret 3 and the loop' et the end of the spring 2. The structure rshown is in a measure typcel. of' the con-v struction f the vfront ends of `automobile 90 sills and the connection of the supporting springs thereto and is illustrative particun larly of the manuel' of connecting the bumper to the front end oftV su miton'iobile.4 However, some automobiles have the rear ends of the sills constructed in somewhat similar manner and our invention is adapted to be applied thereto, or, with necessary modifications, to the rear ends of Automobiles which have ay rear end structure somewhat different from that shown herein.

It is s, common practice to provide the spring bolt e with e heed 5 at one end hsv ing en oil or grease Icup 6 communicating through aJ pas geway in the head and bolt to lubricutc the l'iearing surfaces of the spring connection. and the opposite end of this bolt is threaded and provided with a. polygonal nut 7.

The bumper attaching bracket comprises right and lett hand side plates 8 and 9 which are adapted to be clamped on opposite sides of the sill l, eachhaving apertures l0, ll and l2. The spring bolt 'l is removed in mounting the pair of' brackets and reinserted .in place, being passed through the apertures l() of both plates 8 and 9, after which the nut 7 is turned onto the end of the bolt to clamp the plates 8 and 9 against the sides of the sill l. The plates 8 and 9 may be countenbored on their outer sides around the apertures i() indicated at .i3 to decrease Ithe thickness oi' the .vall and afford recesses to receive the head 5 and nut 7 ot' the bolt 4l thus not materially in reasing the length of bolt required and enabling the bolt (l, which was used previous to the attachment ol the bracket to connect the spring 2 with the sill l, to be employed in attaching the brackets il and 9. A lug lll may be provided on one ot' the side plates li or 9 and have a set screw l5 threaded therethrough against the side taces of the nut 7 to lock the latter against turning on. the bolt el. Y

.The apeiifures l2 in the plates 8 and 9 are located adjacent 'the rear ends of the plates and have a bolt 'lli inserted. there through under the sill l a distance rear# wardly from "the bolt ti; so as to engage against thc under side of 'the sill and afford one'member of a vertical clamping' connection o the brackets with the sill. A strap or cros plate 1T is central-.ly enlarged at 18 and shaped to lit the curvature of the upper surface of the sill l and has ai'ertured ears i9 through which are inserted the upper ends of bolts 20, each ot which the lower end ill bent laterally and inserted through one ot' the apertures l l of the pir Jes S and 9. it. boss 22 is preferably formed around each aperture il to provide a substantial bearing tor tl e outturned end 2l ci the belt and to bear the strain when the nuts 23 are turned down on 'the upper ends of the bolts against the ears 19, the tightening of these nuts serving to clamp the sill l between the bolt 1G and plate 17 so as to coperate with the bolt fl to secure the brackets on the sill.

Each plate 8 is provided at its forward end beyond the end of the sill 1 with an inturned flange 24- and each of these flanges Iis notched or slotted at adjacent the lower end. lvl/'hen the plates fi and 9 are clamped onto the end ot' the sill l as hereinbe'fore described, the Jflanges '24 and the slots 25 are. positioned. in alinement as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

heersen The bumper which wcprefer to use in connection with these brackets and which we have shown herein consists of an clongated flat bar 26 which extends transversely of the car and has the ends looped rearnfardly and inwardly as at 2T to afford a resilient construction to resist impact, and the inner ends of the inturned end portions 27 rnay be secured together, ii desired, by a clamp such as indicated at 28. Our invention, however, is not restricted to this l...rticular type of bumper but may been ployed in connection with other types it desired as will be readily apparent. The bumper, of whatever type, is preferably' detachably secured to the forward ends of the plates'd and 9 and with the bumper formed of -a fiat bar, as in the illustration, we provide a Ushaped clamp 29 with wide depending arms 30 and 31 spaced apart a sufficient distance to admit the bumper bar and llanges 2i therebetween. Corresponding' bolt holes 32 and 33 are provided in the arms 30 and 3l at each side there-oi', the latter being prelierably squared to take a square shoulder under the head ot the bolt 34 whereby the latter is held from turning. The clamp 29 is inserted ovei` the inturned flanges 9A; of the plates S and 9 and the inturned end- 27 of the bumper 26 inserted between the arms of the clamp in front of the flanges Bolts 3A are then inserted through the openings 32 and 83, being passed through the slots 25 and under the har 27, and the nuts 35 turned on the ends of these bolts so to draw the arms 30 and 3l together and clamp the flanges 24 and the bar 27 securely in position therebetween.

It will be observed that by employing the two side plates 8 and 9 with the inturned ilanges 24; and slots 25 and clamp 29, a large range of adjustment is provided enabling 'the bracket to be applied to the ends ol" sills ci various lateral dimensions and by using the vertical. clamping arrangement consisti' I of the bolt 16 and clamp plato 1'?, the lateral adjustment of the plates li and 9 is not only permitted but thc bracket is adapted to lt sills of various forms and vertical dimensions. Furthermore, with the bumper 115 mounted on the forward end ol the bracket, as shown herein, impact strains are not only resisted by the lateral Jr'rictional engagement and bolt connection of 'the plates 8 and 9 effected by the bolt 4, but also by the ver- 120 tributing the impact strains so as to be 125 effectively resisted by the connection with the sill without danger of injury to the bolt el; or the sill itself.

While we have shown and described our invention 'in a preferred form, are aware 130 brackets in the several positions of adjustment.

2. ln a bumper attachment, the combination of a pair of corresponding bracket members adapted to be clamped on the opposite sides of a vehicle sill and each having an inturned flange at the outer end thereof, a bumper, and meansfor detachably.securing the bumper to said flanges ot the bracket members.

3. In a bumper attachment, the combination of a pair of bracket members adapted to clamp the end of a vehicle sill therebetween and each having a laterally extending upright flange at the outer en'd, a. bumper,

and a clamp detachablyr engaging the bumper and the flanges to clamp the bumper to the flanges.

4. In a bumper attachment, the combination of, an attaching bracket comprising a pair or' relatively adjustable plates adapted to clamp the end of a vehicle sill therebetween and each having a matching inturned flange at the forward end, a bumper, ayokc for detachably clamping the bumper onto said inturned flanges, and means connecting the yoke with the flanges and permittingr relative adjustment of said bracket members and their flanges.

5. In a bumper attachment, the combination of an attaching bracket comprising relatively separable plates adapted to clamp the end of a vehicle sill therebetween and each having a matching inwardly extending flange at the outer end, a bumper, a yoke for clamping the bumper onto the inturned flanges, bolts engaging the inturned flanges and the yoke for contracting the arms of the yokey `for clamping the bumper onto the flanges, said flanges being provided with laterally elongated apertures for the bolts so as to permit relative lateral adjustment of the bracket plates.

6. In a bumper attachment, thc combination with a. vehicle sill having a supporting spring pivotally connected to the end there- GO/of, of bracket members clamped oh opposite sides of said sill, connecting members including the spring pivot, and sill engaging members permitting the vertical and lateral adjustment of said bracket members relative to said sill, and means for attaching a bumper to said brackets.'

7. In a bumper attachment, the combination with a vehicle sill having a supporting spring pivotally connected to the end thereot, ot an attaching bracket comprising relav tively adjustable side plates mounted on the spring pivot and clamped against the opposite sides of the sill, means adjustably connected with the side plates to clamp against the upper and lower surfaces of the sill, and a bumper connected with the side plates beyond the end of the sill.

S. In a bumper attachment, the combination with a vehicle sill having a supporting spring` pivotally connected. to the end thereof, of a bracket comprising a painof side plates secured on the spring pivot in clamping engagement against the late ral walls 'of the sill, a transverse bolt spaced rearwardly from the spring pivot and extending under the sill, a clamping member pivotally connected to the side plates and engaging over thetop of the sill intermediate of the pivot bolt and second mentioned bolt and having means for adj ustably engaging the clamping member with the upper surface of the sill, and a bumper secured to the side plates. be-

'.yond the end of the sill.

sill, means on the plates spaced rearwardly from the spring pivot and lextending inwardly under the sill, a clamp overlying the sill and adjustably connected with the side plates to clamp the sill between said rearwardly spaced. means, and a bumper detachably and adjustably secured to the inturned flanges of the side plates.

l0. ln a bumper attachment, the combination of a sill, a supporting spring, a ivot bolt pivotally connecting the end o the spring to the end of the sill and having a nut threaded on the end thereof, a bracket comprising a side plate secured on the pivot bolt and clamped thereby against the side of the sill, means on the bracket spaced rearwardly from the pivot bolt for clamping the bracket on the sill, a bumper "mounted on the bracket beyond the endof the sill, and adjustable means on the bracket engaging the nut of the pivot bolt to lock said nut from turning.

ln witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names this 10th day of June, A. 11,1919. i

WLLIAM G'. PANCOAST.

VILLIAM J. GROTENHUIS. 

